“Sure,” he responded, wondering why her tone had changed slightly. He hoped he wasn’t moving in on her plans too fast. He had a tendency to take over, and he knew that this independent, capable woman wouldn’t like that. “We’ll take it one step at a time. Where would you like to start?” he asked.
“Finding the wire baskets, just as you said,” she responded excitedly. She was so excited that she almost forgot to pick up Barney at Stitches.
Chapter 33
The desk sergeant looked embarrassed about delivering the chief’s message. “I’m sorry, detective. The chief said you’re late and he won’t be available again for a few hours. He said for you to wait.”
“The hell I will,” Shields responded loudly. He left the station and grabbed a cab back to his house. The key still didn’t work, of course, but he got in through the basement window, which he had done before. He spent the next hour on the telephone and hung up with a contented smile on his face. He put two suitcases on the bed and quickly packed his clothes. He went into the computer room to make sure there was nothing he needed. He found his personal documents and stuck them in his briefcase; then he took the picture of his mother off the wall and added that. He returned to the bedroom and closed the suitcases. He placed all the bags by the front door and made one last trip through the house to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.
He remembered the safe and went into her room. He opened it. “Empty, of course,” he muttered. “That bitch.”
The cab driver returned as prearranged and helped him with his bags. They went back to the police station and, again, asked to see the chief. The desk sergeant made a quick call and returned to say that the chief wouldn’t be available until the end of the day.
“That’s okay. This will only take a second.” He ignored the sergeant’s objections and walked into the chief’s office unannounced, laid his resignation on the desk, and turned to leave.
“What’s this?” the chief asked with annoyance.
“My resignation. I’m out of here.” He turned and slammed the door behind him. He wouldn’t need this man’s recommendation because he already had his old job back. He was soon to be back in the city where he belonged.
Chief Harmon sat stunned, absorbing what had just happened. On the one hand, he was rid of a big problem. On the other, could he let this man loose on another department with no warning? After giving it some thought, he decided he wouldn’t initiate the call. If they called him for a reference, he would be honest. It sounded, though, like Shields already had his ducks in a row. Yes, I’ll wait and see if they call me. He reached for his to-do list and crossed off one item: resolve the Shields issue.
As the plane took off, Shields took one last look at the town as it grew smaller and even more insignificant. Why did I ever come here? he wondered. How could I have thought her money would make up for all that was missing? He thought about his drinking and how it had come close to ruining his career. He realized he would have to address that issue. He handed the flight attendant a hundred dollar bill and said, “Keep the scotch flowing, sweetie.”
* * * * *
“We’ve been permanently assigned to the Burgess case,” Gabriel told Amanda.
“How did that happen? What about Shields?”
“He’s gone. Resigned. I have no idea why or how it happened. Maybe he was encouraged to do it, but we’ll probably hear through the grapevine one of these days. In the meantime, you and I have to put our heads together and get this case closed. What happened when you met with Frank last night?”
“I might have something, but I’m not hopeful. It turns out that his friend may not be the most reliable source. The young man who told Frank he knew who did it is a guy Frank was in special education with back in his school days. Frank went on to the workshop and learned a trade. He’s working at a grocery store now and is pretty high functioning. His friend was never able to leave the workshop. He sounds limited and is prone to exaggerations, according to Frank. I’m on my way over there now to talk with him, but as I said, I’m not hopeful.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Gabe offered.
“No. I think I do this kind of thing best when I’m alone. It’s a matter of building trust, and I don’t find that uniforms or men help much in that direction,” she added dryly. Gabe grunted and returned to his paperwork.
“I’ve found two other cases in Shields’s drawer,” Gabe said as Amanda was preparing to leave. “It doesn’t look like anything has been done on them. Not sure how they slipped through the cracks, but we’re going to have to get moving. I imagine, when I bring these cases to the lieutenant’s attention, he’ll assign them to us.”
Amanda moaned her response on her way out of the office.
Chapter 34
Sarah and Charles met Paul in front of the security office. “Looks like a good day for moving,” Paul called to Charles as he was getting out of his truck. “They were calling for rain, and my truck isn’t covered, but the sky is clear. No sign of rain yet. How far are we going?”
“My daughter lives on the other side of town,” Sarah said, joining the conversation. “It’s only about twenty minutes away. She lives on Palomino Drive just south of ...”
“I know the section.” Paul interrupted. “My brother lives over there. What’s her address?”
“521,” Sarah responded.
“Great. I know exactly where that is. Corner house, right?”
“Yes. How did you know that?” Sarah asked.
“My brother lives right across the street. I’ll call ahead and have him help us with the heavy stuff. Why don’t you folks follow me.”
Charles was sitting in the passenger seat of Sarah’s car as they followed behind Paul’s truck. “Are you sure your daughter is okay with meeting me this way?” he asked.
“Yes, Charles,” Sarah responded. She knew he was nervous about meeting Martha. “She’ll be fine with meeting you this way. When I called her, I explained what we were doing with the guest room, and once she got used to the idea, she agreed it was a good use of the room. She seemed glad that you’re going to be helping with the construction instead of some stranger.” Sarah spoke confidently and reassuringly, but she was, in fact, more nervous than Charles about introducing them. She could never tell what Martha’s mood would be, and Martha was quick to speak her mind with little concern for how her words might affect others.
They pulled up behind the truck right in front of Martha’s house. “You sure did know exactly where you were going,” Martha called to Paul.
“Yep. Here comes my brother now.”
Paul was making the introductions as the front door opened. Martha came out, nodded at her mother, and turned to Paul’s brother. “Are you going to be helping?” she asked coolly.
Sarah realized this must be the neighbor Martha had been complaining about. She had told her mother that there was a neighbor with teenage kids that she described as having “no consideration for others.” Upon questioning Martha, her only complaint seemed to be loud music. Sarah was sometimes glad that Martha had not had children. “She just doesn’t have the temperament for it,” she had said to Sophie.
As Paul and his brother talked, Sarah pulled Charles aside and said, “Martha, I want you to meet my good friend, Charles Parker. Charles, this is my daughter, Martha.”
Martha extended her hand, looked him in the eye, and said, “I’m glad to meet you, Mr. Parker.”
“Call me Charles,” he said with a smile. “I’m glad to meet you, too. Your mother has told me so much about you. She’s very proud of you.” Martha seemed surprised and looked at her mother questioningly. Not wanting to get into anything with Martha, she simply smiled and suggested they show the men what they were picking up.
“Come on, fellas,” Sarah called out.
“Okay,” Paul said, following Sarah toward the house. “What’re we getting?”
“There’s a futon and a wooden cabinet in the basement.” Paul frowned. “In the base
ment, huh?”
Martha spoke up and told them there was an outside door on the side of the house that went directly into the basement.
“No steps involved,” Sarah reassured them. Paul and his brother had the truck loaded in a matter of minutes and were ready to leave. Martha asked if anyone wanted a cup of coffee before they left. Paul said he would like to have a few minutes to run across the street and say hello to his brother’s family, and Sarah said she and Charles would love to stay for a few minutes. “Take your time,” Sarah called to Paul as he and his brother headed across the street.
When they walked into the kitchen, Sarah was surprised to find the table already set for coffee. The room was filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, and Martha pulled a coffee cake from the oven, which was set on warm. Sarah was very glad they had accepted her invitation. Martha had clearly planned for them to stay.
As they drank coffee, Martha asked about the plans for the sewing room. Charles pulled a small notebook out of his breast pocket and began to sketch the plans. Sarah momentarily pictured him as a young officer, reaching for his notebook. She wondered what he was like when he first entered the police force. “Are you still with us?” Charles asked, smiling.
“Oh, sorry. Yes, I’m right here. What do you think of the plans, Martha?”
“I think it looks great, Mother. I don’t know anything about sewing and what you might need, but this looks like you’ve thought of everything.” Martha and Charles continued to talk about the plans. Martha asked her mother what tools she used. After Sarah described the measuring and cutting tools, Martha suggested a pegboard above the worktable, and both Sarah and Charles loved the idea.
“Why don’t you come over next week,” Sarah asked. “We could have lunch and walk over to the fabric shop. I’d love to show you what I’m working on and introduce you to my teachers.”
“I’d like that,” Martha said simply.
On the way home, Sarah thought about Martha. She saw her soften, and she hadn’t seen that side of Martha for many years. She wondered if seeing her with Charles had anything to do with it. She wished Martha had someone in her life that she could relax around and begin to enjoy life again. She had been so hurt by the loss of her father, and later her own divorce, that she seemed to have just hardened. Today she revealed a crack in that shell.
Chapter 35
It was late afternoon, and Detective Amanda Holmes was rushing to the workshop before it closed for the day when her cell phone rang. It was Gabe. “But I’m on my way to the workshop to meet with Frank’s friend.” Amanda objected. “Do you really need me right now, Gabe?” Amanda swerved to miss the car that had cut in front of her to make an illegal turn. If she weren’t in such a hurry, she would have pulled him over, but instead she just turned on the siren to give him a scare.
“Yes, we need to get over there right away,” Detective Gabriel responded. “There was a disturbance call from Cunningham Village, and the lieutenant wants us out there. That’s all I know except that it’s at the home of Ralph and Millie Lake.”
“Am I supposed to know them?” Amanda asked.
“Yes ... from the Burgess file. Millie is the one who was reported to have had an affair with Andrew Burgess. Ralph is her husband and the guy we interviewed a couple of weeks ago. You weren’t involved yet.”
“Ah, yes. The angry drunk.”
“That’s the guy,” Gabe responded. At least that’s one of the angry drunks involved in that interview, he thought.
When they arrived at the Lake’s house, they found Ralph on the front porch in handcuffs, and Millie wrapped around him sobbing. “What’s going on here?” Detective Gabriel asked, addressing the officer who appeared to be in charge.
“We had a call from a neighbor about a disturbance at this address. We found Mrs. Lake on the floor and this guy standing over her, yelling. We cuffed him, and now she’s pleading with us to let him go. She swears they were just having a disagreement and that he didn’t hit her. Her face is already swollen and red.”
Gabe turned to her. She attempted to stop sobbing and said, “I fell. That’s all. I just fell.”
Gabe turned to Ralph. “We meet again, Mr. Lake. What’s going on here?”
“It’s like she said. The bitch fell. I was just helping her up,” he slurred.
“Let’s take this down to the station.” Gabe turned to Amanda and added, “You take Mrs. Lake.” Then, addressing one of the officers, he added, “Read him his rights, and I’ll meet you there.”
Detective Gabriel got into his car and drove off. Amanda helped Millie Lake into her patrol car but didn’t drive away immediately. Instead, she turned to Millie and asked, “Are you okay? Do you need to go by the hospital and get checked out?”
“No.” She said emphatically. “Ralph would kill me.”
“Kill you?” Amanda asked with raised eyebrows.
“No ... not actually kill me ... but he would be furious. I don’t want to make him any angrier than he already is. Once he sobers up, he’ll be fine.” Millie paused, and then added, “They aren’t going to put him in jail are they?”
Amanda didn’t answer her question, and the two women drove to the police station in silence. Once they arrived, Amanda took Millie to a small interrogation room on the main corridor. It was a less intimating room and was often used for questioning witnesses and families of the accused. She offered Millie coffee but told her it was actually not very good. “How about a soda?” she suggested instead. Millie nodded. Amanda left the room and returned with two sodas and a couple of packages of vending machine cookies.
“Tell me what happened, Millie. What made him so angry?” Amanda spoke softly.
Millie started to say she had fallen, but Amanda cut her off, “No, Millie. I know better. Please ... just talk to me.” Millie began to cry softly. Amanda waited without speaking. Finally Millie spoke.
“Ralph loves me. I want you to know that first off. But he has this problem with his temper. Actually, it’s only when he’s drinking, but that’s pretty often. And he just ... sort of ... loses control sometimes.”
“He hits you?” Amanda asked. Millie remained quiet. “Did he hit you tonight?” Millie began to sob.
“Yes,” she said finally. “I didn’t think he was going to stop this time,” she added softly.
“What set him off?” Amanda asked.
“He was laid off from his job today, and he wasn’t expecting it. The factory had lost a couple of contracts, and other guys were thinking they might get laid off, but Ralph said they needed him, whether they had the contracts or not. He was just blindsided by it. He didn’t even come home ... he went directly to the bar and came home cussing and yelling. I asked what had happened, and that’s when he turned on me.” She began to sob again and cover her eyes with embarrassment.
Trying to catch her totally off guard, Amanda asked abruptly, “Do you think he killed Andy?”
Amanda had surprised Millie with the question, and Millie raised her head, responding adamantly, “No. Absolutely not. Ralph could never do that. He can be mean, but he’s no killer.”
“The detectives are going to want to talk to you, Millie. Please tell them the truth. I know you think things will work out, but you could have been killed tonight. I want you to take that seriously.” Amanda watched as Millie slightly nodded her head as if she hesitantly agreed.
“If you ever want to get out of this situation or need help,” Amanda added, “let me know. I’ll help in any way I can.” She wrote her private number on the back of her card and handed it to Millie. She also handed her a card for the local women’s shelter. “These folks can help you, too.”
Millie lowered her head and said quietly, “Thank you.” She hesitated and then added, “I don’t know who I’ve become.” Amanda waited at first, but Millie didn’t say anything else. Amanda then stood and said, “I’ll let the detectives know you’re here.”
To Amanda’s surprise, Millie agreed to file charges later
that night. By the time Amanda got home, it was almost dawn. She collapsed into bed and immediately fell asleep.
* * * * *
Since Lake was arrested for assault, they now had his fingerprints. Detective Gabriel requested that the lab compare them to the unidentified sets found in the Burgess house. As it turned out, there were several matches in the living room and on the front door frame. Gabe thought about where they were with the case. We have a possible motive: the affair. Now we have prints. Lake had an alibi, but the department was unable to confirm it. The bartender knew him but wasn’t sure if he was at Barney’s that particular night. The friends who tentatively said he was there could have been covering for him. This just might be our guy, he told himself hopefully. He met with his lieutenant and the prosecutor early the next morning, and they decided to file murder charges.
Millie Lake appeared at the station early the next morning with a lawyer and managed to have the charges against him dropped for the assault on her. She was prepared to take him home but learned that he had now been arrested for murder. Millie became hysterical, sobbing that he was innocent. She asked to see Detective Holmes, but she was not available. She also asked to see her husband, but she was told she would have to wait.
Detective Amanda Holmes was called and arrived at the courthouse just in time for Ralph Lake’s hearing.
Chapter 36
Sarah and Charles had carried the shelves and brackets into the guest room. “I think we’re ready to start,” Charles announced. The bed was gone, and the new items were stacked against one wall. While Charles was measuring, Sarah stood quietly staring out of the window. “What’s wrong, lady?” he asked.
“I was thinking about Andy’s case. Ralph Lake has been arrested for his murder, and that just doesn’t sit right with me. Something’s wrong. I tried to call Millie, but there was no answer.”
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